1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to, for example, a waterproof connector used as a component of an electric equipment in an automobile, and particularly to a waterproof connector which is obtained by ultrasonically vibrating to harden an adhesive agent and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A waterproof connector according to a first conventional example is arranged so that after an electric wire is fitted into a rubber plug, the electric wires are pressed against a terminal member to be connected therewith. Then, the terminal member with which the electric wire is connected is inserted into a connector housing, and thus the rubber plug carries out a waterproof function. However, in this arrangement, it is necessary to fit electric wires one by one into the rubber plug, so in the case of a multielectrode connector, manufacturing is complicated. Moreover, a rubber plug should be changed according to sizes of electric wires.
In addition, a waterproof connector according to a second conventional example is arranged so that the complexity as for individual electric wires is eliminated and application to the multielectrode connector is possible. A rubber plug is arranged so that a pair of half bodies are joined to each other (Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 50-54591). A plurality of fitting grooves into which electric wires are fitted are formed on counter surfaces of the respective half bodies. After electric wires are fitted into the fitting grooves of one half body in parallel, the other half body is put over the electric wires so that the electric wires intervene between the half bodies. Then, the half bodies are pushed into a accommodating portion of the connector housing, and thus assembly is completed.
In addition, a waterproof connector according to a third conventional example is arranged from a viewpoint that the application to a multielectrode connector is made possible so that a terminal member is connected with points of plural electric wires and the terminal member is inserted into a terminal accommodating portion of a connector housing so that the plural electric wires are mounted to the connector housing. Then, an adhesive sealing agent (potting agent) is poured from a nozzle into the connector housing, it is heated in a high-temperature tank, and thus the potting agent is hardened so that the waterproof structure is obtained.
However, as for the waterproof connector according to the second conventional example, the rubber plug having a complicated structure should be manufactured, so it is expensive. Furthermore, when the rubber plug is pushed into the connector housing, it must be compressed, so workability is deteriorated. Moreover, similarly to the waterproof connector according to the first conventional example, it is also necessary to change a rubber plug every time sizes of electric wires are varied.
Meanwhile, in the waterproof connector according to the third conventional example, since potting agent is used, there arises no problems when such a rubber plug is used. However, a long time (several hours) is required for hardening the potting agent, there arises a problem that the manufacturing time becomes longer. Moreover, since the hardening of the potting agent depends on humidity, this connector has complexity that the ambient humidity should fall within a moderate range.